NRLF 


*B 


SOME  EXPECTS  051  THE  WAH  UP01T 
TEE  SEED  INDUSTRY  OF  THE 
OTITBD  STATES 

By  V;.  A*   Y.heeler  and  Gr.   C.-Edler 
U.S.D.A.  lib.    775  1919 


SOME  EFFECTS  OF  THE  WAR  UPON 

THE  SEED  INDUSTRY  OF  THE 

UNITED  STATES 


BY 

W.  A.  WHEELER 
Specialist  in  Seed  Marketing 

AND 

G.  C.  EDLER 

Investigator  in  Seed  Marketing 

Bureau  of  Markets 


CONTENTS 


More  Seeds  Will  be  Home  Grown 

Effect  of  the  War  Upon  Imports  and  Exports 

Domestic  Demands  for  Seed 

Influence  of  War  on  Seed  Production 

Seed  Stocks 

Effect  of  the  War  on  Prices 

Movement  of  Seeds 

Local  Problems  of  Wholesale  and  Retail  Seedsmen 

The  Seed  Reporting  Service  of  the  Bureau  of  Markets 20 


Page 
3 
3 
5 
7 

16 
17 
19 
19 


Separate  from  Yearbook  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture,  1918 

No.  775 


WASHINGTON  :  GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE  :  1919 


W5 


Aerie. -Forestry. 


SOME    EFFECTS   OF  THE   WAR   UPON   THE    SEED 
INDUSTRY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


By  W.  A.  WHEELER,  Kiwialifst  in  Seed  Marketing,  ami  G.  C.  EDLEK, 
Inrc*t!<fat*>r  in  Seed  Marketing,  Bureau  of  Markets. 

MORE  SEEDS  WILL  BE  HOME  GROWN. 

ONE  of  the  basic  agricultural  industries  that  have  under- 
gon$  man}'  changes,  influenced  by  the  war,  is  the  seed 
industry  in  the  United  States.  Doubtless  some  of  these 
changed  conditions  will  become  permanent  features  of  the 
industry,  with  the  result  that  this  country  will  tend  to  be- 
come more  independent  of  the  world's  supply  of  seeds.  It 
is  perhaps  true  that  in  the  production  of  certain  kinds  of 
vegetable  seeds  the  United  States  has  not  reached  the  same 
degree  of  perfection  that  some  other  countries  have  reached 
after  many  years  and  generations  of  specialized  effort;  yet, 
at  the  same  time,  few,  if  any,  countries  have  ever  made  the 
rapid  strides  in  vegetable-seed  production  that  this  country 
did  during  the  war.. 

Many  of  the  effects  that  have  been  noted  may  or  may  not 
be  permanent.  It  is  too  soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  to 
prognosticate  their  permanency,  but  their  future  is  worthy 
of  careful  study  at  this  time.  Often  it  is  difficult  to  differ- 
entiate between  those  effects  that  are  traceable  directly  to  the 
war  and  those  that  are  an  indirect  result  of  the  war,  but 
some  of  those  that  have  been  noted  are  discussed  rather 
briefly  in  this  article. 

EFFECT  OF  THE  WAR  UPON  IMPORTS  AND  EXPORTS. 

In  Table  1  are  given  figures  compiled  from  data  obtained 
from  the  Bureau  of  Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce,  of 
the  Department  of  Commerce,  showing  the  imports  of  the 
United  States  during  the  first  year  after  our  entry  into  the 
war,  and  our  average  annual  imports  during  the  three-year 
war  period  ending  June  30,  1917,  as  compared  with  the 
average  annual  imports  before  the  war  for  a  five-year  period 
ending  June  30,  1914.  A  study  of  these  figures  will  reveal 
the  fact  that  of  practically  all  field  and  vegetable  seeds  used 

103014:0—  19  -  1  q 


4fl  I  373 


4:- 


of  Agriculture. 


exclusively  for  planting  purposes  the  imports  before  the  war 
exceeded  those  during  the  war,  and  in  most  cases  the  differ- 
ence is  considerable.  The  table  was  published  in  the  issue 
of  the  Seed  Reporter  for  October  5,  1918. 

TABLE  1.— Imports  of  field,   vegetable,  and  flower  seeds  into  the 
United  States. 


Kind  of  seed. 

Imports, 
first  year 
of  United 
States  war, 
year  ending, 
June  30, 
1918. 

Average 
annual  im- 
ports, 3-year 
war  period 
ending  June 
30,  1917. 

Average 
annual  im- 
ports, pre- 
war pecjod 
ending  June 
30,  1914.2 

Beet  sugar                      -  - 

Pounds. 
15,636,541 

Pounds. 
13,  135,  456 

Pounds. 
11,616,300 

447  878 

753  376 

819,  715 

Cabbage 

83,210 

270,470 

252,  528 

Carrot               

32,500 

46,651 

149,  724 

Castor  -beans  '                     .  - 

58,  048,  090 

46,  060,  550 

43,818,060 

Cauliflower      

7,969 

9,963 

8,711 

Celery  J 

167,684 

667,695 

199,  358 

Collard           

17 

3,073 

667 

Corn  salad                          

1,945 

4,843 

7,068 

2  069 

1  057 

1  795 

Kale                       -             .  -- 

8,016 

34  965 

30,326 

Kobl-rabi 

16  770 

12  025 

21  409 

Mushroom  spawn 

16,  923 

79  234 

279,064 

Mustard  J 

13  035  837 

12  174  056 

10  819  715 

Parsley  J          .        

66,  494 

82  283 

118,112 

7  065 

88  477 

89  702 

Pepper 

21,884 

11  729 

14,515 

Radish 

102  735 

326  344 

491  097 

804  789 

869  321 

1  241  758 

Turnip  and  rutabaga 

2  150  965 

i  664  728 

1  735  033 

$126  422 

$198  512 

$239  371 

\lfalfa 

87  244 

3  996  613 

7  301  712 

3  665  037 

2  042  314 

6  057  196 

Crimson  clover 

1  601  503 

6  765  753 

8  537  597 

Red  clover     

861,709 

15  968  322 

12  328  449 

White  clover                 .  . 

230  073 

1  263  881 

Clovers,  "  all  other  "  ".  

2  062  429 

2  654  762 

4  801  686 

Grasses  "all  other" 

5  618  204 

11  888  185 

16  644  424 

Hairy  (winter)  vetch  

178  766 

265  001 

2  948  075 

Common  (spring)  vetch 

65  179 

753  705 

Rape'            

12  673  276 

6  663  615 

5,668,952 

Soy  beans  '            

31  812  997 

4  061  755 

1,929,435 

1  Imported  both  for  planting  and  other  purposes. 

a  The  prewar  period  from  which  this  average  has  been  computed  includes  5  years  from  June 
30, 1909,  to  June  30, 1914,  for  the  first  21  items  covering  vegetable  and  flower  seeds,  and  3  years 
from  June  30,  1911,  to  June  30,  1914,  for  the  remaining  items  covering  field  seeds,  except  soy 
beans,  for  which  the  imports  only -for  the  year  ending  June  30, 1914,  of  that  period  are  available. 

3  Figures  given  indicate  value  in  dollars  instead  of  quantity  in  pounds. 


Effects  of  the  War  U 


During  the  war  the  exports  of  vegetable  seeds  and  of  some 
field  seeds,  which  in  the  past  have  been  imported  in  larger 
quantities  than  they  have  been  exported,  in  the  main  greatly 
exceeded  the  exports  before  the  war,  despite  the  fact  that 
many  restrictions  had  to  be  placed  on  seed  exports  to  con- 
serve ocean  tonnage,  to  insure  a  sufficient  supply  of  seed  at 
home,  and  to  guard  against  shipments  billed  to  neutral 
countries  but  ultimately  meant  for  enemy  countries.  Un- 
fortunately. export  figures  for  field  and  vegetable  seeck  are 
not  available  except  somewhat  incomplete  figures  for  the 
fiscal  years  ending  July  1,  1917  and  1918.  The  exports  of 
vegetable  seeds  for  these  two  fiscal  years  compared  with  the 
anticipated  exports  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  July  1,  1919, 
as  reported  to  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Markets,  by  the 
largest  seed  dealers  indicate  that  a  marked  increase  in  the 
exports  of  vegetable  seeds  has  taken  place  during  the  war, 
even  at  a  time  when  our  own  domestic  demand  was  greater 
than  ever  before.  Table  2  shows  where  the  greatest  gains 
in  vegetable  seed  exports  were  made. 

DOMESTIC  DEMANDS  FOR  SEED. 

The  war  has  had  a  far-reaching  effect  upon  the  domestic 
demand  for  vegetable  seed  and  certain  kinds  of  field  seed. 
By  means  of  the  publicity  given  by  the  various  agencies  of 
the  Government  and  by  seedsmen  and  periodicals  to  war 
gardens,  a  greater  demand  for  vegetable  seed  arose  than  was 
ever  before  experienced.  People  in  cities  who  had  never 
planted  gardens  were  influenced  to  "  do  their  bit  "  toward 
solving  the  food  problem  by  making  gardens.  While  it  is 
true  that  in  some  localities  the  sales  of  seed  to  market  gar- 
deners decreased,  this  was  more  than  offset  by  the  small  sales 
to  the  vastly  increased  number  of  amateur  gardeners. 

In  order  to  help  feed  the  allies,  the  farmers  of  this  coun- 
try, spurred  on  by  record  prices,  patriotically  responded  to 
the  appeal  for  more  food  crops  by  planting  greater  acreages 
of  wheat,  corn,  oats,  rye,  barley,  etc.,  and,  while  conditions 
were  not  always  favorable,  they  succeeded  in  surpassing  the 
record  production  of  many  of  these  crops.  Increased  acre- 
age, of  course,  meant  an  increased  demand  for  seeds  with 
whirli  to  plant  these  crops,  and  a  higher  percentage  of  the 


6 


&.  Department  of  Agriculture. 


quantity  of  seed  planted  of  wheat,  corn,  oats,  and  barley  was 
sold  commercially  in  1918  than  in  1917,  and  probably  than  in 
most  of  the  years  prior  to  the  war.  While  it  is  true  that  a 
comparatively  small  percentage  of  the  seed  of  grain  crops 
is  sold  for  planting  purposes  by  commercial  agencies,  never- 
theless this  small  percentage  often  is  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance, and  the  seed  dealers  were  quick  to  sense  the  in- 
creased demand  for  seed  grains. 

•TABLE  2.  —  Vegetable  seed  exports  for  the  United  States. 


Item. 

Estimated 
quantity 
reserved  for 
export  dur- 
ing year 
ending  July 
1,  1919.* 

Exports 
for  year 
ending  July 
1,  1918.2 

Exports 
for  year 
ending  July 
1,  1917.2 

Beans,  dwarf  snap 

Pounds. 
337  049 

Pounds. 
199  002 

Pounds. 
194  959 

Beans,  garden  pole  (not  in- 
cluding lima) 

58  459 

26  552 

17  234 

Beet,  garden  

160  404 

42  293 

44  283 

Beet  mangel 

31  696 

7  355 

16  619 

Beet,  sugar  

60  260 

30  346 

300 

Cabbage 

2  468 

15  468 

17  ^37 

Carrot  

959  314 

400  009 

159  270 

Cauliflower  

516 

355 

Celery  

11  7'78 

3  997 

1  927 

Cucumber 

30  943 

38  65& 

44  921 

Kale      

214 

'277 

Lettuce 

306  353 

270  426 

313  678 

Muskmelon  .         .  . 

2  GOO 

3  023 

Watermelon 

6  205 

7  499 

Onion  seed      .  . 

408  410 

242  232 

291  78% 

Onion  sets  

233  400 

3^8  424 

Parsley  

9  406 

5  258 

Parsnip 

54  393 

16  733 

Peas,  garden  . 

4  384  177 

2  713  ioi 

7  289  225 

Pepper 

516 

931 

Pumpkin  

2  8^1 

o-  407 

Radish 

346   ii27 

104  04S 

Salsify  

18  l^t 

2  HO-> 

Spinach 

46  990 

9  216 

Squash,  summer.   . 

2  7S9 

9    §~2 

Squash,  winter  

2  950 

2  545 

Sweet  corn  

380  816 

409  225 

215  187 

Tomato  . 

10  443 

10  913 

Turnip,  English  
Turnip,  Swede 

9,397 
2S  938 

92,304 
25  990 

6,841 

Seed  Export  Survey  of  Sept.  11,  1918. 


Seed  Survey  of  July  1,  1918. 


Effects  of  th*3   Wni'  V  '  l>&K.tty?Svf&ed\l  ft/jf^^r^r/^  :  //-  7 


The  increased  acreage  of  food  crops  was  generally  at  the 
expense  of  grass  or  forage  crops,  a  condition  similar  to  that 
which  existed  in  European  countries.  The  demand  for  these 
seeds,  therefore,  appears  with  certain  exceptions  to  have 
been  less  than  usual.  The  demand  for  clover  seed,  sown  in 
many  localities  more  for  improving  the  soil  than  for  the 
revenue  it  brings  as  a  hay  or  seed  crop,  has  been  exceedingly 
good  during  the  war. 

INFLUENCE   OF  WAR  ON  SEED   PRODUCTION. 

The  production  of  vegetable  seed  in  the  United  States  has 
been  revolutionized  by  the  war.  Previously,  most  of  the 
beet,  carrot,  radish,  and  spinach  seed  planted  in  this  country 
was  imported  from  Great  Britain  and  France,  and  to  a  less 
extent  from  other  countries.  Instead  of  an  importer  of 
these  and  other  seeds,  the  United  States  became  an  exporter, 
and  the  gains  made  in  exports  have  already  been  shown  in 
Table  2.  In  1916,  European  countries  began  placing  large 
contracts  with  commercial  seed  growers  in  the  United 
States  for  the  production  of  many  crops  which  in  the  past 
had  not  been  grown  here  on  a  commercial  scale. 

In  order  to  take  care  of  the  increasing  domestic  and  for- 
eign demand  and  the  falling  off  of  imports,  the  acreage 
planted  in  old,  proven  localities  was  increased  and  new  areas 
of  production  were  sought,  particularly  with  reference  to 
vegetable  seeds,  but  to  a  much  less  degree  with  reference  to 
field  seeds.  While  some  new  areas  were  found  to  give  better 
yields  or  seeds  of  better  quality  than  did  old  areas,  the  ex- 
pense of  pioneering  was  often  such  a  drawback  as  to  dis- 
courage further  increased  production  in  many  of  the  new 
areas.  However,  it  is  apparent  to  many  growers  that  cer- 
tain kinds  of  seed  may  be  produced  in  a  number  of  places  in 
this  country,  and  that  one  of  the  best  assurances  against 
total  failure  of  seed  crops  is  the  diversification  of  acreages  as 
much  as  possible.  At  the  same  time  it  is  realized  that  cer- 
tain localities  are  better  adapted  for  the  production  of  a  few 
kinds  of  seed  than  are  other  localities. 

Figures  1  to  6  show  the  location  of  the  counties  in  the 
United  States  in  which  many  of  the  most  important  vege- 
table seeds  are  grown.  Table  3  shows  the  commercial 


8 


•Department  of  Agriculture. 


Effects  of  the  War 


103514°— 


ti  of  *tik&  department  of  Agriculture. 


Effects  of  the  War'Upon'ike  'Seed  Industry. 


11 


12          Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 


Effect*  of  the  War  Upon  the  Seed  Industry.          13 


14       ''Yearbook  of  ^Department  of  Agriculture. 

acreage,  average  yield  per  acre,  commercial  production  and 
consumption  of  vegetable  seed  crops  in  1918,  1917,  and  1916, 
as  reported  to  the  Bureau  of  Markets  in  a  survey  made  July 
1,  1918. 

TABLE  3. — Commercial  acreage,  average  yield  per  acre,  commercial 
production,  and  estimated  commercial  consumption  of  vegetable 
seed  for  the  United  States. 

[A  revised  tabulation  of  reports  from  185  commercial  vegetable-seed  growers 
reporting  in  the  vegetable-seed  production  survey  of  July  1,  1918,  including 
information  and  estimates  from  other  sources.] 


Kind  of  seed. 

Commercial  acreage. 

Average  yield  per  acre. 

1918            1917 

1916 

1918  esti- 
mated . 

1917             1916 

Beans  dwarf  snap 

Acres. 
70,868 

6,297 
2,748 
418 
6,014 
974 
4,622 
175 
3,  053 
71 
2,276 
1,558 
10,522 
7,233 
3,470 
155 
269 
110,194 
715 
1,490 
8,646 
123 
3,942 
916 
2,539 
13,934 
4,024 
766 
271 

Acres. 
63,524 

4,029 
826 
20 
4,638 
737 
1,965 
84 
4,694 
18 
1,979 
1,827 
8,929 
3,782 
2,637 
109 
137 
110,  129 
686 
1,512 
3,521 
131 
1,415 
836 
1,328 
12,975 
3,204 
24 
21 

Acres. 
63,581 

4,971' 
342 
5 
5,655 
765 
1,039 
85 
4,397 
55 
1,723 
1,791 
6,249 
3,181 
2,478 
78 
90 
72,  130 
432 
1,201 
2,631 
52 
123 
1,068 
1,131 
14,420 
2,460 
54 
10 

Pounds. 

514 

627 
889 
873 
980 
161 
508 
370 
210 
153 
320 
148 
105 
205 
11,380 
360 
743 
598 
100 
151 
225 
228 
395 
158 
102 
1,180 
71 
290 
80 

Pounds. 
234 

315 
562 
1,504 
1,094 
393 
574 
335 
218 
250 
457 
161 
71 
259 
11,851 
772 
499 
444 
31 
72 
176 
431 
220 
145 
70 
640 
92 
127 
418 

Pounds. 
237 

243 
587 
720 
980 
284 
574 
611 
209 
540 
626 
155 
75 
418 
9,184 
1,583 
748 
721 
39 
94 
274 
624 
364 
154 
78 
588 
76 
375 
384 

Beans,  garden  pole  (not  in- 
cluding lima)  

Beet  garden 

Beet,  mangel  

Beet  sugar 

Cabbage      

Carrot 

Celery  
Cucumber  

Kale 

Lettuce  

Muskmelon 

Watermelon  

Onion  seed 

Onion  sets  

Parsley 

Parsnip  

Peas,  garden 

Pepper  

Pumpkin       

Radish  

Salsify      .  .  . 

Spinach 

Squash  summer  . 

Squash,  winter  

Sweet  corn 

Tomato 

Turnip,  English 

Turnip,  Swede  

Effects  of  the  !!'<//    £'/  <eed  Industry.          15 


TABLE  3. — Commercial   af-reuyr.   accrayc   yield  per  acre,   commercial 
jinn] uct ion,    and    estimated    commercial    cvnzuniption    of 
seed  for  the  United  States — Continued. 


Kind  of  seed. 

Commercial  production. 

Estimated  commercial 
consumption,  year 
ending  July  I. 

1918  esti- 
mate. 

1917 

1916 

1918 

1917 

Rpans,  dw^rf  sn&p  

Pounds. 
36,425,000 

3,930,000 
2,440,000 
365,000 
5,900,000 
157,000 
2,350,000 
65,000 
640,000 
10,900 
730,000 
230,000 
1,100,000 
1,480,000 
39,500,000 
56,000 
200,009 
65,912,000 
71,500 
22-5,000 
1,940,000 
28,000 
1,560,000 
145,000 
260,000 
16,500,000 
287,000 
222,700 
22,000 

Pound*. 
14,809,000 

1,268,000 
464,000 
30,000 
5,076,000 
292,000 
1,129,000 
28,100 
1,026,000 
4,500 
903,000 
293,000 
633,000 
980,000 
31,249,000 
84,000 
68,000 
48,868,000 
21,000 
108,000 
621,000 
56,000 
300,000 
121,000 
93,000 
8,303,000 
227,000 
3,000 
8..  700 

Pounds. 
15,074,000 

1,208,000 
200,000 
3,600 
5,539,000 
217,000 
534,000 
5,200 
920,000 
29,000 
1,078,000 
277,000 
470,000 
1,329,000 
22,756,000 
123,000 
67,000 
52,014,000 
17,000 
111,000 
720,000 
32,000 
45,000 
164,000 
87,000 
8,468,000 
187,000 
20,000 
3,800 

Pounds. 
13,700,000 

1,790,000 
480,000 
320,000 
13,800,000 
485,000 
455,000 

Pounds. 
15,  550,  000 

1,630,000 
480,000 
320,000 
11,200,000 
500,000 
405,000 

Be^ns,  garden  pole  (not  in- 
cluding lima)  

Beet  garden 

Hwt,  mang*3' 

Beet,  sugar  

Cabbage 

Carrot  

Celery 

Cucumber  
Kal" 

830,000 
48,000 
470,000 
300,000 
505,000 
1,030,000 
30,950,000 
144,000 
120,000 
50,300,000 
33,000 

525,000 
64,000 
585,000 
220,000 
485,000 
1,165,000 
22,300,000 
125,000 
155,000 
53,400,000 
31,000 
87,000 
935,000 
21,000 
930,000 
105,000 
114,000 
7,460,000 
234,000 
1,550,000 
400,000 

Lettuce 

Muskmelon  

Watermelon  
Onion  seed  
Onion  set5 

Parsley  

Parsnip 

Peas,  £ard°n 

Pepper  
Pumpkin 

Radish             .   . 

£35,000 
25,000 
785,600 
101,000 
102,000 
8,900,000 
206,000 

Salsi/y  

FpiiUM/h 

Squash,  summer 

Squash,  winter  
Sweet  corn             .   . 

Tomato 

Turnip,  English  
Turnip  Swede 

It  will  be  noted  that  a  marked  increase  in  acreage  is 
reported  for  1918  for  garden  beet,  mangel  beet,  carrot, 
onion,  radish,  spinach,  winter  squash,  English  turnip,  and 
Swede  turnip  seed.  Unfortunately,  no  figures  approaching 
in  completeness  those  given  in  Table  3  are  available  for  the 
prewar  period,  but  there  is  no  question  that  the  acreage 
of  the  above-mentioned  crops,  as  well  as  many  others,  in  any 
one  year  of  the  prewar  period,  was  in  almost  every  case 


16          Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

considerably  less  than  even  the   1916   acreage   of  each  of 
these  seed  crops. 

While  the  war  stimulated  the  production  of  most  kinds 
of  vegetable  and  field  seed,  it  had  a  deterrent  effect  upon  the 
production  of  other  kinds  commonly  exported  from  this 
country,  such  as  timothy,  redtop,  meadow  fescue,  and  Ken- 
tucky bluegrass.  High  hay  prices,  increased  acreages  of 
food  crops,  and  limited  demand  for  seeds  of  grass  crops 
from  European  countries,  among  other  factors,  resulted  in 
the  cutting  of  a  smaller  acreage  of  the  grasses  for  seed  pur- 
poses during  the  war.  Since  the  close  of  the  war,  however, 
an  increasing  demand  for  grass  seeds  is  apparent  because 
of  the  approach  of  more  normal  conditions  in  European 
countries  which  permit  of  more  diversified  farming. 

SEED  STOCKS. 

Larger  stocks  of  most  of  the  field  and  vegetable  seeds  were 
held  by  seedsmen  during  the  war  than  were  held  before  the 
Avar.  There  were  many  reasons  for  this.  The  demand  for 
them  was  greater  and  on  account  of  the  uncertainties  attend- 
ant upon  domestic  production  of  kinds  that  formerly  were 
imported,  larger  growing  contracts  were  placed  with  the 
commercial  seed  growers,  with  the  result  that  when  larger 
deliveries  were  made  than  were  anticipated,  larger  stocks  had 
to  be  carried.  Furthermore,  the  ever-increasing  high  prices 
for  seed,  which  will  be  discussed  later,  also  had  a  tendency 
to  cause  tHe  larger  seedsmen  to  buy  more  than  they  had  been 
accustomed  to  do  in  the  past.  A  larger  percentage  of  the 
stocks  of  vegetable  seed  was  grown  in  the  United  States 
during  the  war  than  before  the  war,  which  meant  inferior 
quality  with  some  kinds  and  possibly  superior  quality  with 
other  kinds.  In  the  opinion  of  some  seedsmen,  quantity 
rather  than  quality  seed  production  was  so  uppermost  in 
the  minds  of  growers  that  quality  was  thereby  sacrificed. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  small  country  merchant  handling 
field  or  vegetable  seeds  in  bulk  often  was  loath  to  buy  heavily 
much  in  advance  of  the  planting  season  because  of  the 
high  prices  prevailing  on  most  kinds;  hence  increased  stocks 
had  to  be  carried  by  the  larger  seedsmen  during  the  war. 

There  was  a  pronounced  tendency  on  the  part  of  many 
seedsmen  to  reduce  the  number  of  varieties  of  vegetable 


of  the   '\Yai-  Up&\   tlu    *<t<!' I ,',<ln«t'ry.'         17 

seeds  handled  by  them,  to  minimize  the  number  of  so-called 
novelties,  and  to  emphasize  the  standard  varieties.  This 
was  in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  conservation  that  was  so 
much  in  evidence  during  the  war. 

EFFECT  OF  THE  WAR  ON  PRICES. 

Prices  on  practically  all  field  and  vegetable  seed  advanced 
with  the  increased  cost  of  production  and  marketing  and  in 
sympathy  with  other  agricultural  and  manufactured  com- 
modities. Commercial  vegetable-seed  growers  had  to  pay 
the  small  growers  with  whom  they  contracted  considerably 
higher  prices,  and  additional  help  at  roguing  and  harvest 
time  commanded  much  higher  wages  than  have  ruled  in  the 
past.  Because  food  crops  were  commanding  such  high 
prices,  small  vegetable  seed  growers  preferred  to  grow  them 
rather  than  vegetable  seeds,  and  many  growers  were  induced 
to  continue  producing  vegetable  seed  only  after  much  higher 
prices  were  offered  them  for  doing  it. 

Thus  it  was  necessary  for  the  commercial  growers  to  ask 
higher  prices  on  their  growing  contracts  with  seedsmen. 
In  turn,  seedsmen  found  that  the  cost  of  doing  business  was 
greater  and  the  risks  assumed  more  hazardous.  All  these 
factors  were  reflected  in  the  higher  prices  at  which  seedsmen 
catalogued  their  vegetable  seeds  for  1918.  In  Table  4, 
compiled  from  a  large  number  of  retail  mail-order  catalogues 
of  representative  seedsmen,  the  prices  given  represent  retail 
prices  of  standard  varieties  of  seed  for  1918,  and  for  the 
same  varieties  in  1917.  The  increase  in  prices  of  1918  over 
those  of  1917  range  from  about  5  per  cent  on  celery  up  to 
260  per  cent  on  Swede  turnip  seed,  and  average  for  the  items 
listed  about  60  per  cent. 

Prices  on  most  of  the  field  seeds  were  considerably  higher 
during  the  war  than  prior  to  it,  but  it  is  very  difficult  to  de- 
termine how  much  of  the  increase  was  due  to  the  war  and 
how  much  to  unfavorable  climatic  conditions.  High  prices 
for  food  and  hay  crops  were  largely  responsible  for  the  re- 
duction in  the  acreage  of  grasses  and  clovers  cut  for  seed 
purposes,  and,  with  yields  per  acre  equal  to  or  less  than  the 
average,  the  production  of  these  seeds  was  decreased,  a  factor 
which  affected  prices. 


0    .VM/iU 


18          Y'erbbtfK'bf'tkeeyanmtnt  of  Agriculture. 

TABLE  4.  —  Retail  prices  of  standard  varieties  of  seed,  1917  and  1918. 


19 

18 

19 

17 

Crop. 

Per 
ounce. 

Pei- 
pound. 

Per 
ounce. 

Per 

pound. 

Beet  garden              

Cents. 
20 

Cents. 
234 

Cents. 
13 

Cents. 
132 

13 

132 

0 

_J 

0i 

Cabbage                 

45 

505 

25 

298 

Carrot 

22 

223 

14 

142 

Celery                              

54 

635 

52 

597 

14 

177 

11 

93 

Lettuce                               

15 

141 

14 

134 

Muskmelon  

17 

152 

16 

117 

Watermelon  

Onion  seed 

12 
55 

97 
516 

11 
23 

79 
250 

Parsley  

Parsnips 

13 
18 

107 
176 

11 
10 

88 
68 

Radish 

21 

167 

10 

67 

Spinach 

19 

212 

11 

89 

Squash,  summer  
Squash,  winter  

14 

15 

138 
148 

10 
12 

94 
96 

Tomato 

38 

411 

29 

297 

Turnip,  English  

18 

196 

10 

69 

Turnip,  Swede 

22 

235 

9 

65 

Per 

quart. 

Per 

quart. 

Beans,  dwarf  snap 

Cents. 
79 

43 

Cents. 
62 

32 

Beans,  garden  pole 

76 

41 

45 

26 

Peas,  garden  

61 

37 

43 

23 

Sweet  corn  

61 

.  38 

47 

26 

In  the  case  of  seed  corn  in  the  spring  of  1918,  most  of  the 
price  increase  should  be  charged  up  to  a  backward  growing 
season  in  1917  and  early,  heavy  frost  that  year.  Climatic 
conditions  in  1917  and  1918  also  were  responsible  in  consider- 
able measure,  together  with  the  small  carry-over  on  July  1, 
1917,  and  still  smaller  carry-over  on  July  1.  1918,  for  the 
high  prices  for  red-clover  seed.  The  prices  of  such  seeds  as 
timothy,  redtop,  meadow  fescue,  and  Kentucky  bluegrass, 
a  large  percentage  of  the  crop  of  which  is  normally  exported 
each  year,  remained  nearer  prewar  levels  than  did  the 
clovers,  seed  grains,  etc.,  largely  because  there  appeared  to  be 
very  little  demand  in  European  countries  for  seeds  of  the 


Effect*  of  th>    }\'dr  r  i>on  tin:  Seed  Industry.          19 

grasses.  In  the  winter  of  1917-18,  red-clover  seed  reached 
the  highest  price.-  on  record,  but  these  prices  have  been  ex- 
ceeded by  those  prevailing  during  the  fall  of  1918  and  winter 
of  1918-19.  A  comparison  of  red-clover  seed  prices  on 
December  1  for  "  contract,  prime  grade "  on  the  Toledo 
market  extending  over  a  period  of  12  years  may  be  made 
from  the  figures  given  below: 


Price 
per  bu. 

1918 $25.  30 

1017 15.90 

101(3 10.70 

r.nr» 32.  or, 

1914 9.  22 

1913—  S.  75 


Price 
per  bu. 

1912 $11.  15 

1911 12.  62 

1910 9. 00 

1909 8.77 

1908 5.  57 

1907__  9.95 


MOVEMENT  OF  SEEDS. 

The  transportation  situation  became  so  bad  during  1917 
and  1918  that  its  effect  was  very  apparent  to  those  wishing 
to  ship  seed  either  by  carload  or  less  than  carload  lots.  In 
some  cities,  seedsmen  pooled  with  one  another  their  ship- 
ments destined  for  points  in  the  same  direction,  and  closer 
cooperation  in  this  respect,  as  well  as  in  others,  was  more 
evident  than  ever  before.  Embargoes  on  freight  shipments 
became  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception.  The  fact  that 
seeds  were  placed  on  the  preference  list  did  not  alleviate 
conditions  much  for  the  seedsmen.  Express  shipments  were 
made  when  freight  shipments  were  impossible,  but  it  was 
not  long  before  express  shipments  became  demoralized. 
Many  seedsmen  reported  the  arrival  of  seeds  from  the  West 
too  late  for  planting  that  season,  which  was  partly  responsi- 
ble for  a  larger  carry-over  of  some  kinds  of  vegetable  seed 
than  usual  on  the  part  of  man}'  dealers. 

LOCAL    PROBLEMS    OF    WHOLESALE    AND    RETAIL 
SEEDSMEN. 

In  the  foregoing,  some  of  the  effects  upon  the  seed  indus- 
try have  been  pointed  out  without  any  specific  reference  to 
the  changes  with  which  many  seedsmen  themselves  found 
it  necessary  to  cope.  Seedsmen  who  in  the  past  had  relied 
on  the  profits  derived  from  exporting  or  importing  seed  for 
the  maintenance  of  their  business,  soon  found  that  they 


20         Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agri-culture. 

could  import  little  or  no  seed  of  the  kinds  handled  by  them, 
and  were  restricted  so  much  in  the  matter  of  exports  that 
they  had  to  look  for  an  outlet  for  their  seed  in  the  United 
States.  New  areas  in  this  country  in  which  to  purchase  and 
also  to  sell  seeds  had  to  be  found  by  many  of  the  seedsmen 
in  order  that  they  might  continue  in  business.  Thus  they 
competed  with  other  seedsmen  who  had  been  accustomed 
to  buy  or  sell"  in  these  areas. 

On  account  of  the  uncertainties  of  distant  freight  ship- 
ments, country  merchants  were  more  inclined  than  usual  to 
place  their  late  spring  orders  with  local  or  near-by  seedsmen. 
This,  of  course,  affected  the  business  of  some  of  the  larger 
and  more  distant  seedsmen,  who  formerly  sold  to  these  same 
country  merchants. 

In  order  to  get  business,  a  few  large  seed  concerns,  which 
formerly  were  in  the  habit  of  attaching  sight  draft  to  bill 
of  lading,  sold  seed  on  "trade  acceptance"  terms.  Seed 
shipped  by  them  was  paid  for  by  the  purchaser  with  some 
bankable  paper  payable  in  four  months  or  less  with  interest 
at  about  6  per  cent.  Though  similar  arrangements  have 
been  made  in  the  past  by  a  few  seedsmen,  they  were  little 
known  in  the  seed  trade  before  the  war. 

Many  dealers  reported  that  it  was  more  difficult  to  negoti- 
ate large  loans  with  the  banks  because  of  frequent,  temporary 
depressions.  With  seed  generally  higher  and  money  scarcer, 
field  seedsmen  often  were  reluctant  to  carry  as  large  stocks 
as  customarily.  The  chances  of  big  profits  or  losses  in  the 
field  seed  business  were  greater  than  in  peace  times  because 
of  the  larger  and  more  frequent  fluctuations  in  the  prices 
of  seeds. 

THE  SEED  REPORTING  SERVICE  OF  THE  BUREAU  OF 
MARKETS. 

In  order  to  act  somewhat  as  a  balance  wheel  to  the  seed 
trade  and  as  a  guide  to  the  various  agencies  of  the  Govern- 
ment in  handling  the  seed  end  of  the  food  production  prob- 
lem, the  Bureau  of  Markets  shortly  after  war  was  declared 
established  a  Seed  Reporting  Service.  In  the  matter  of 
seeds,  the  first  great  concern  of  the  Nation  was  to  insure, 
so  far  as  possible,  an  ample  supply  of  seed  of  crops  that 
would  help  feed  this  country  as  well  as  the  allies,  and  to  see 


Effects  of  the  War  Upon  the  Seed  Imhi-*try.         21 

that  tliis  supply  was  made  available  and  distributed  as  -eco- 
nomically and  efficiently  as  possible.  It  is  an  economic  waste 
of  time  and  resources  to  produce  seed  of  a  kind  that  is  not 
needed  or  wanted  much  in  excess  of  the  demand  for  it. 

By  means  of  the  figures  published  in  the  Seed  Reporter, 
the  official  organ  of  the  Seed  Reporting  Service,  showing 
cany-over  and  current  stocks  on  hand,  exports  and  im- 
ports, as  well  as  other  information,  growers  and  dealers 
could  determine  to  some  extent,  whether  or  not  the  growing 
or  handling  of  various  kinds  of  seeds  would  result  in  profit 
to  them. 

In  the  case  of  vegetable  seed,  the  data  given  served  well  as 
an  indicator  of  which  kinds  would  probably  be  short  for 
the  next  planting  season  unless  the  acreage  devoted  to  their 
production -was  increased  considerably  or  the  yield  per  acre 
proved  to  be  much  above  the  average.  While  it  is  true  that 
some  of  the  larger  growers  would  have  gone  ahead  increasing 
their  own  acreage  of  certain  crops  two  or  more  fold,  many  of 
the  growers  would  have  hesitated  to  place  contracts  with 
growers  at  greatly  increased  prices,  knowing  as  they  did  that 
the  labor  shortage  during  the  growing  season  and  at  harvest 
time  might  be  even  more  acute  than  at  planting  time,  if  they 
had  not  had  access  to  information  which  indicated  clearly 
that  there  would  be  a  good  demand  for  practically  all  of  the 
seed  they  could  produce  of  most  kinds  of  vegetable  crops. 

Published  contract  prices  paid  to  small  growers,  and 
wholesale  and  retail  prices  of  seedsmen  enabled  commercial 
growers  to  determine  whether  or  not  they  were  paying  their 
growers  too  much  or  too  little  as  compared  with  other  com- 
mercial growers,  whether  or  not  seedsmen  were  purchasing 
or  selling  at  prices  out  of  line  with  analogous  prices  of  other 
seedsmen,  and  whether  or  not  the  consumers  had  a  right 
to  object  to  prices  paid  by  them. 

Preliminary  estimates  of  the  production  of  field  or  vege- 
table seed,  either  actual  or  as  compared  with  normal  or 
with  the  preceding  year,  together  with  figures  showing  the 
carry-over  and  other  information,  helped  to  establish  more 
•juickly  prices  of  various  field  seeds;  to  place  buyer  and  seller 
on  more  equal  terms  so  far  as  knowledge  of  the  supply  and 
demand  for -particular  seeds  was  concerned;  and  to  assist 
governmental  agencies  in  formulating  a  policy  with  reference 


22  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

to  the  advisability  of  allowing  the  exportation  of  certain 
kinds  of  vegetable  or  field  seeds  with  or  without  restriction. 
The  Seed  Reporting  Service  of  the  Bureau  of  Markets  has 
been  able  to  supply  the  information  needed  to  pass  upon  the 
necessity  of  importing  certain  kinds  of  seed  or  of  exporting 
others,  or  upon  the  importance  of  the  conservation  of  cer- 
tain kinds. of  seeds  and  of  the  urgency  for  the  stimulation 
of  their  production.  Without  such  a  well-organized  agency, 
the  Government  would  not  have  been  able  to  pass  intelligent 
judgment  upon  or  to  make  proper  recommendations  con- 
cerning these  questions. 


m 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 

Return  to  desk  from  which  borrowed. 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


MAY2HW8 


LD  21-100m-9,'48(B399sl6)476 


<3 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


